Marc Haegeman

Thanks, Jeannie. Great to hear Cojocaru and Kobborg were doing so well at the Mariinsky. "Giselle" is definitely one of their finest achievements and a massive hit in London. Cojocaru in her interview for DanceView expressed her doubts as to how she would fit in the Kirov, where the ballerinas are all so tall - well at least she seems to have conquered the audience .

It's very interesting to compare the length of the dancers, but I wonder, too, if somebody could tell us anything about Thibault's performance in Rubies? Thank you.

Quite, Mel. Yet, neighboring institutions are sometimes the farthest away of all.

I guess you always have that risk when soloists from different companies, schools, styles, temperament etc. are mixed for a one-time occasion. It may bring out the best of them, or.... have the complete opposite effect.

Thanks for that Jeannie. Two great ladies left the building. As far as I know Altynai Asylmuratova never wanted a farewell gala or anything special. She preferred to leave in silence.

Thanks, Jeannie. It's always rewarding to be able to compare different casts.

Taking it back to Masha Alexandrova, here is a link to her biography in The Small Ballet Encyclopedia: http://www.ballet.classical.ru/b_ealexandrova.html This is the most detailed and complete biography I ever came across.

Interesting. Sounds like you're really in for a treat, Jeannie .

Svetlana Lunkina seems to have more than one card up her sleeve, as she can soon be seen in her first movie: http://www.palm-springs.org/petersburgcann...nesexpress.html Perhaps the people from Moscow know something more about this?

There is also a short fragment of a Kirov's Raymonda pas de deux on "The Glory of the Kirov" VHS/DVD, featuring Kolpakova and Semenov. Some marvelous dancing there . In the mid-nineties Russian TV made documentaries about both versions the Kirov Ballet dances (K. Sergeyev and Y. Grigorovich), showing rehearsals and large excerpts of the ballet itself. As to the famous full length Raymonda with Kolpakova and Berezhnoi, broadcasted by the BBC, one can only hope....

The truth will be revealed on the day itself, Françoise For the moment Manuel Legris is only scheduled to perform "Suite of dances" and "Carmen" on the final day of the Festival.

I'd say same time (end of February-beginning of March) next year.

Thank you, Mikhail for your explanations and for the statistics. Just a question on the side of this topic - what is it that makes Anastasia Volochkova so popular at the Bolshoi?

Thank you, Inga. Good point, these differences in approach and style are just what makes seeing the same ballet danced by different companies especially interesting. And that the approach can also change with time, even when the choreographer is involved, is also quite common. I suppose the other casts will reveal different aspects of the ballet as well. Anybody else who saw Notre-Dame de Paris?

Thanks, Jeannie and Katharine. Irina Zhelonkina used to be quite a heavy-duty ballerina in the nineties: endless fairies, odalisques, sylphs, shades, peasant pas de deux, and "friend of" all sorts of characters, but only rarely a principal role on tour. She somehow disappeared from touring recently. I doubt if this merited title will change anything about that now.

I've lost count, Jeannie. Obviously an extremely difficult birth that opening-night Solor.

Zakharova fans will have noted that she is scheduled to guest again (last year she danced "Sleeping Beauty") with the Opera di Roma for the run of "Swan Lakes" (choreography by Galina Samsova), March 25-April 4 next. Her partner is the Mariinsky's Evgeny Ivanchenko. More on: http://www.operaroma.it/CALENDAR/20002009/003cal01.htm http://www.operaroma.it/BALLETTI/lagocign/20030325.htm

Some more cast changes for the Festival. Andrian Fadeyev replaces Ethan Stiefel as Solor in the opening night's "Bayadère", while Jock Soto will partner Wendy Whelan in "Rubies" on the 25th (replacing Woetzel).

Thanks, Inga! Good to hear the Bolshoi dancers are doing well in it. Was the ballet generally well received by the public?

Thank you for posting, Mikhail. Keep those "long posts" coming! It's not a problem of partners, besides Alexandrova is not that exceptional or extravagant when it comes to physique. As far as I understand (provided a case like this can be understood), the current Bolshoi management just doesn't want to give her the proper chances. They will have their reasons, I'm sure. But if you grant Volochkova opening nights of "Swan Lake" and continue to ignore somebody like Alexandrova, something is really wrong. Perhaps Mikhail, or anybody else, could say something more about that.

Hi BB, Well, I guess it all depends of what kind of treat you are looking for, but why not go for the rarities and the only premiere of the week: the evening of "the historic ballets" and the Pirlipat/Nutcracker (Feb. 26 and 27). But that’s really just personal. “Massive” changes won’t probably happen, only here and there ;)

Thank you, scuffite, for your review, which gives us a good idea of the performances and something of the atmosphere surrounding the event.

Great, Scuffite. If you do, please report about these performances.

Thanks, Jeannie. There are indeed some delightful works on that evening. It's a shame that they actually became such rarities. Also interesting to note that the fragment from "Coppelia" they are doing is taken from Vikharev's reconstruction. Sologub and Fadeyev are now cast for the "Nutcracker" on Febr. 27th.

Quite. In a recent interview Vladimir Vasiliev (who also staged his own version of "Romeo and Juliet") made a good point when he said that "it's essential to realize that Prokofiev's 'Romeo and Juliet' is not Shakespeare and it's no use trying to follow the original story when you work with his music."